Turned Pages
by MiaHammBailey
Summary: Maeve Devine is finding herself having to solve new secrets everyday. Will it all be too much for her? Or will new friends help her adjust to new life? Who knows? First in a series.
1. Something New

**Chapter One: Something New**

It was not a happy day for me. A few days ago, the tragic deaths of Harold and Virginia Devine occurred. It was suspected that they had been murdered from the scene of toppled chairs and torn carpets, but there were no bruises, cuts, or scratch on their pale, lifeless bodies.

No one knew who or what could have caused their unsuspecting deaths. Not even their fifteen year old daughter, me, Maeve Devine, who was the one who found them on the living room floor.

And that brings us to now, at the funeral with just me, the social worker, and the grave diggers. This is not how I wanted to spend a Saturday. I gave my parents my tearful goodbyes and walked briskly away, not wanting to linger too long. The social worker, Tanya Foyay I think her name was, put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder once we stopped and turned me to face her. I wouldn't face her, but instead looked down at my black skirt, concentrating on picking any stray lint off.

"Maeve, I'm terribly sorry about your parents, but after time, I think you will be able to move on." She started. I looked up at her, but stayed silent. Tanya continued.

"Ok, now for the business matters at hand. We weren't able to find any living relatives, distant or otherwise, but one of the officers did find a note that might interest you." I immediately focused in on her words now. "From the looks of it, both of your parents wrote it to you. It may have some valuable information on it." She looked into her Gucci bag and pulled out a folded note. She handed it to me and I unfolded it, unfolding secrets along with it.

_Our darling baby girl, _

_If you are now reading this note, then it means we have passed on into another place. We're so sorry we couldn't stay in this world with you, but our deaths were unavoidable.-_

Unavoidable? What did that mean? I read on, paying careful attention.

_There is so much to be explained to you. Too much to be explained in a letter. But this can be known by you now. You are not what you appear to be. There are so many others like you, but you must figure out everything else on your own. Sweetheart, you will be an important person who can do a lot of things, but you must find out what. We must also say this. You are to live with the Jordans. Henry and Kathy Jordan. We went to school with Henry. They can explain a lot to you. We must go now, our time is running out. We love you. Never forget this, and keep the ones you love close to you. We love you our little darling._

_Love forever,_

_Mom and Dad._

I finished the letter with tears clouding my eyes. What did this mean? How was I different? Who were the Jordans? I had never heard my parents mention them. I wiped my face clear of tears and handed the note to Tanya. She gave it a once over and nodded with her creased brows.

"Well I guess you're staying with the Jordans then. I just have to figure out where-" She had glanced down at the note and stopped suddenly. She turned the paper over as if to find something that wasn't there before.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Uh, nothing. I just… there was an address on here that I must have missed." She said. I peeked at the paper, and sure enough there was the obvious address of what must have been the Jordan's home. How did _I_ miss that?

"Well Maeve, let's get your things packed, and I can drive you to your new home." Tanya said and then stalked away, leaving me in her wake, trying to catch up with her long, high-heeled strides.

* * *

The car ride had been long, and we still had a couple miles to go. I had been silent, with Tanya giving me encouraging words every once in a while. My only packed trunk, which consisted mostly of jeans and sweaters, could be heard shifting around in the trunk from the swerves of the car.

"I think we're just about there Maeve. Can you see the house?" Tanya directed my way. I looked up and saw a line of houses. We were in the neighborhood now, and the address numbers were counting closer to my new home.

"And… here we are now." Tanya said as she pulled the car into a driveway. The house looked like any other house, except it had blooming flowers that the surrounding homes lacked. Mrs. Jordan must be an avid gardener.

Tanya stepped out of the car first, and me second. We went around back to pop the trunk open and get my stuff out. We then proceeded to the front door where Tanya rang the doorbell.

The door opened a few moments later to show a dark-skinned boy, probably my age, with spidery dreadlocks. He grinned at us to show a brilliant white smile, and said a friendly,

"Hi. You're Maeve right? And Tanyay Foolya?" Lee struggled with the name. I stifled a giggle as Tanya huffed. But before Tanya could correct the boy, he called out behind him.

"Mum! Maeve and Toony Foly are here!" I could tell he was going to be a fun person to hang out with. He brought his attention back to us. "Come on in. I'm Lee Jordan by the way." He waved us in and shut the door behind us. The house was really beautiful on the inside. It gave a homey feel to it that made me feel welcome already.

An older, dark-skinned woman then steeped into the living room. She had an exotic motherly beauty about her, and I could tell by her wide smile that Lee had inherited his bright smile from her.

"Hello. You must be Tanya Foyay.-" She glanced at Lee, but then turned my way. "And you must be Maeve. Oh my how you've grown. You're the spitting image of your mother God rest her soul." She wrapped me in a hug that made the feeling of welcome grow. She then let go and turned to Lee.

"Lee, could you help Maeve take her bag to her room while I finish up some business with Ms. Foyay?" She asked. Lee then bowed deeply to her and grabbed my trunk. He then stepped next to me and held out his arm. I smiled a bit and looped my arm through his, and we stepped up the stairs and into my new sanctuary. I could definitely get used to living here.

The room was bare with white walls and floors, but it was fairly sized. There was a twin sized bed in the corner, and there was a dresser. A wooden desk sat along the side of the wall, but other than those pieces of furniture, that was it. But I wasn't complaining.

"Sorry if it's not what you expected. We didn't really know what you would like, so we decided to let you decide." Lee said.

"Thanks, but it's fine. I like it." I said graciously. Lee set my trunk down in front of my bed as I sat on the fluffy brown comforter of the bed. It was really comfy.

"So… I guess you're a bit confused." Lee said. I looked confusedly at him, my brows creasing.

"What do you mean?" I asked him. He looked nervous, as if he shouldn't have just started this conversation at all.

"Well, Mom told me that you hadn't been filled in on a lot of details? Whatever that means." He said.

"Yeah well, it's kind of confusing to me, but hopefully I'll get some answers later." I told him.

"Yeah. But even you don't, we could always test out the prototype for the Extendable Ears." Lee smiled widely at me. And even though I had absolutely no clue what Extendable whatevers were (and I had no desire to know), I smiled back at him, knowing that my life wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

-**New story! Woo hoo! The other one just wasn't working out for me, but I'll try to find time to pick it up again. Until then, I'm gonna write from the books and completely follow the books, starting next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**-I also might need help with the timeline and stuff like that, so just tell me if I missed somthing like that. Thanks!**

**-I'll also make the other chapters long. Prolly as long as the usual chapters in Harry Potter. And I would also like to point out that even though I will be writing a lot of stuff from the books, I would like to disclaim now that I will write some stuff that isn't mine, but is in fact J.K. Rowling's. **** -Miahammbailey**


	2. Starting Friendships

**Chapter Two: Starting Friendships**

It was exactly one week later when I found myself in an unfamiliar place. Lee had just taken me to Diagon Alley, some sort of wizarding shopping square, and everything amazed me. The night of last week, my new family had sat me down at the kitchen table and explained everything to me.

It had been a long conversation, and I don't want to confuse people with the details, so I'll try to some it all up. Basically(if you caould even say that), my parents were both magical. Magical in the sense of witches and wizards. And I'm a witch too. They tried to protect me from the start of a war in the wizarding world and started a new life as "muggles". Those are none magical people I think. And now I am to attend a special magic school Hogwarts where I will spend my remaining years of school learning there. So the past week was spent with us getting school supplies after a weird letter had been sent to us by owl.

The Jordans are wizards too. Or at least Lee and Mr. Jordan are. Mrs. Jordan is a... muggle. And that about sums it up. They told me there would be more to learn, but those answers could wait. And that brings us to one week later, where Lee and I are enjoying a couple of butterbeers and waiting for his friends to show up.

"So this is an interesting looking pub." I said to Lee. He took a large gulp of his butterbeer.

"Yeah, it's pretty good in here. I can't wait for you to meet Fred and George. I wonder where they are anyway? I thought they said they'd be here." He looked around the room from our corner table. "Wait, I think I see Ron and Harry." He turned to me again. "That's the Golden Trio over there. The bushy haired is Hermione, the red head is Ron, Fred and George's younger brother, and the black haired is _Harry Potter._" He whispered the final name to me like it was a huge secret.

I stared at Lee and asked, "Am I supposed to know him?"

"Oh that's right, you wouldn't know. Sorry." Lee gave a sluggish smile. "You know about the war right? He-who-must-not-be-named wanting to take over? Well Harry's the one who's supposed to stop him."

"But he can't be much older than... fourteen!" I whispered harshly. Who in their right mind would make him fight a monster?

"He's actually thirteen, but the age doesn't really mat-" Lee was suddenly cut off by a loud voice shouting out.

"Harry!" A tall red-headed boy shouted. He bowed deeply to Harry, a lot like what Lee did last week to his mother. "Simply _splendid _to see you, old boy-"

"Marvelous," said an identical red head, pushing his twin away and grabbing Harry's hand. "Absolutely spiffing." A different red-head with glasses on scowled at the both of them. Wow, how many red-headed people am I gonna see today? Oh wait, there's a girl.

"That's Fred and George. They're the loud ones." Lee explained. We faced the large group again just in time to see one of the twins grab an older red headed woman's hand.

"Mum! How really corking to see you." The one said. The family then went into a conversation that was too quiet for me and Lee to hear anymore, so Lee proposed that we go and see them. We both chugged the rest of our drinks, which wasn't a lot since it tasted so good, and left our seats to meet them. And I got to say, after seing that little show a moment ago, I can't wait to meet everyone.

As we got closer to the last people remaining, I heard Fred or George say to Harry, "We tried to shut him in a pyramid, but Mum spotted us." I laughed a bit at his comment, and everyone turned towards me. I immedietely turned red from the unwanted attention, but Fred and George spotted Lee and said hi.

"Splendid to see you too Lee! It certainly has been ages hasn't it-" Fred/George said while swinging an arm around his shoulders.

"-And just who is this beauty that you have been keeping from us?" The other Fred/George asked. He grasped my hand in his and raised it to his lips. But before he could taint my hand, his brother shoved him away and took my other hand.

"Now I know we would've seen you had you gone to Hogwarts-"

"But we haven't seen you before, so this could only mean that you're-"

"The girl that Lee told us about! It's such a pleasure." And at the same time, they both leaned down to kiss my hand. I had gotten dizzy from having to look back and forth between them during their introduction, but I managed to slightly tug my hands out of their grasp with a smile.

"I'm Maeve Devine." I said shyly. The two boys gave two big grins.

"Well hullo Maeve. I'm Fred-" The one on the right said.

"And I'm George. The _handsome_ one." The one on the left said.

"You two look the same, gits!" A low voice said behind them. They turned around and I could see the "Golden Trio" as Lee had said.

"Oh yeah, this is our younger brother-" George started.

"Ickle Ronnikens-"

"And his two friends-"

"Hermione Granger and Harry Potter." Fred finished. You know, up close, I could see faint differences in their faces. It would still take some time to tell them apart though. I waved to the three friends, but before I could get a word out, Fred and George both wrapped their arms around my shoulders and pulled me away from the group. I looked back at Lee to see him following behind, snickering at my surprised look. They took me out the back door that led to the brick wall that, when tapped right, led to Diagon Alley.

"Hey guys, me and Maeve have to be back at the house by six, ok?" Lee said. Fred and George both stopped and turned around, bringing me stumbling after them.

"Well that gives us plenty of time-" Fred(I think!) started.

"To show Maeve around the streets-"

"Show her the menagerie-"

"Get her some Fortescue ice cream-"

"And we must make time to take her to Gambol and Japes!" Again with the finishing of the sentences! Lee grinned widely and nodded his head.

"Yes, if anything else, she must see Gambol and Japes. That's the only place I haven't shown her yet." Lee said. I gave him another one of my confused looks, and he gave me one of those I'll explain later looks. Ok then.

And as Fred and George pulled me back along next to them, I could surely tell that we were all going to be really good friends.


	3. Rough Journey

**Chapter Three: Rough Journey**

One day later, I was hauling my trunk to the car to get to the train station that will be heading for Hogwarts at exactly 11:00 a.m. It was now 9:00 which gave us plenty of time to get to the station. I threw the trunk in the back of the car and walked back inside the house. I went upstairs looking for Lee, knowing he couldn't possibly be finished packing because of the mess I saw yesterday in his room.

"Lee!" I called out. "Where are you? Are you finished packing _yet_?" I opened his bedroom door to see him quickly hide something behind his back.

"Yes Maeve? Can I help you with something?" He asked while shuffling casually behind his bed.

"Yeah, I was wondering if... What are you hiding behind your back?" I stepped forward to try to grab it behind him, but he stepped back.

"Now Maeve, you really shouldn't go poking into other's business. It's terribly unflattering." Lee said. I gaped at him jokingly.

"You do it all the time. From the stories I've heard, you do it on a daily basis! Now what's behind your back?" I made another reach behind his back, but he stepped out of the way, this time he tripped over his opened trunk and fell on his butt, but not before I grabbed the wicker box out of his hand. I put a hand on top of the box and slowly lifted the lid. Through the crack, a skinny, hairy leg crept out. I gave a short burst of a scream and dropped the box. Lee got up and stepped over, picking up the tarantula and the box while cracking up laughing. I glared scarily at him.

"Ha. Sorry 'bout that Maeve, but I -Ha- warned you." Lee said through his laughter. I narrowed my eyes more sharply.

"You did not! You didn't say what was in there!" I screamed at him. He sobered up by now and was trying to shush me.

"Be quiet! At Hogwarts we're allowed either an owl, cat, rat, or toad. No spiders allowed. I can't let my parents or the teachers find out. I've gotten so close to dear Reginald." He said with fake tears. Oh man, I almost feel bad for him. Not. But what can I do about it anyway?

"Relax Lee. Who am I gonna tell anyway? Wait, you named him?" Who names their spider? Well, Lee does, obviously.

"Yup. Reginald Harbor II. It's good right? Anyway, thanks for not saying a word. I promise that in time, you two will learn to love one another." He joked to me. I personally didn't find that at all funny.

"No way. Do not even take him out of that box when I'm around, please?" I begged. Our conversation was interrupted by Lee's dad calling from downstairs.

"Kids! It's time to go! You don't wan't to miss the train do you?" His heavy voice boomed through the room. Lee walked over to his trunk and shut the lid. He lifted it up and pulled it into the hallway. He turned to face me.

"Let's go. It's going to be great. You'll love it there." He said. I smiled at him.

"I'm serious about that spider, Lee. Don't take it out again." I warned him. He just shrugged and went downstairs, grunting at the weight of his trunk. My heart than began to pund with excitment. I was going to attend a wizarding school because I'm a witch with _powers_. Wow. Excitment raced through my veins as I felt the skinny wand tucked in my pocket. I pulled my jumper over it to hide it.

"Maeve! Hurry up!" Lee called up to me. I broke out of my train of thought and ran downstairs to the family. Mrs. Jordan was at the foot of the stairs, waitng to give her goodbyes. I hugged her goodbye, and she led me outside to where Lee and Mr. Jordan were.

"Now remember, if you have any questions, ask Lee or owl us. Or if it's an emergency, ask one of the teachers-" Mr. Jordan started.

"Preferably McGonagall."Lee murmured softly.

"Hem. Yes, well, any teacher would be able to answer. And since you'll be starting in your fifth year, you're going to need tutoring lessons, so you're gonna have to see your teachers about that. Everything should be ready though. Shall we leave?" Mr. Jordan finished. Great, that's just what I need. Extra lessons. Oh well. Learning magic can't be all bad.

We all piled into the car, except for Mrs. Jordan who stayed behind. It was a while before we got to the station, but it went fast as Lee kept telling stories of his past years in Hogwarts, and how I'll get to experience a lot of fun hanging out with him, Fred, and George.

We finally made it to the station and Lee and I got our trunks from the car. Mr. Jordan rolled down his window as Lee and I walked up to him.

"Lee, I trust you'll show Maeve to the platform?" Lee nodded. "Good. I would come, but I would rather avoid the rush. Maeve, have a good year, and try not to be corrupted by my son here." Mr. Jordan said. I nodded and smirked a bit at Lee.

"Alright, I'll behave as well as I can Dad." Lee said. I heard Lee mutter under his breath next to me. "Which isn't that much." I snickered and thanked Mr. Jordan profusely.

"I'll be okay Mr. Jordan. Thanks again for your hospitality." I thanked him. He waved an arm.

"Don't mention it. We're glad to have someone else to look after. We'll be expecting you two at Christmas." He gave me and Lee pointed looks.

"Yeah ok Dad. We'll see you at Christmas. Now, we have to go before the train leaves without us!" Lee said. Mr. Jordan nodded, and told us to go. He shook Lee's hand fatherly, and then hugged me awkwardly. I've barely known him for a week, so awkward would be the right word.

Lee and I grabbed our trunk handles and pulled them into the station. He pulled out two tickets from his pocket and handed one to me.

"There's your ticket. Now, come on." I looked at the ticket and had to do a double take.

"Uh Lee? Platform nine and three _quarters_? Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this." I said.

"Don't worry about it. Now come _on_!" Lee started tugging on my arm. We finally made it to platform's nine and ten, but I didn't see any with three quarters attached to them.

"Lee where-" I was cut off by him.

"Ok, here's what you do. You just have to walk through the brick wall right there. Between nine and ten. Although you might want to run." He told me. I couldn't figure out if he was just joking or if he was serious. Why did he have to be such a pranker?

"Lee, I don't know about this. Are you being serious?" I asked uncertainly. He nodded feverently.

"Of course! Maeve, why would I lie to you?" I gave him an unsure look, but he just shoved me forward a little. I took a deep breath and muttered,

"Lee, if I hurt myself, you're going to feel my wrath." I pushed my cart in front of me and pushed off into a run. Before hitting the wall, I shut my eyes tightly. After a few moments, I opened them to see a huge red train in front of me. And sure enough, there was a sign overhead that had the words _Hogwarts Express Platform 9 3/4_. Oh, so Lee was telling the truth for once. I felt a heavy object hit me from behind.

"Maeve! You're supposed to get out of the way after you go through. Other people have to use the passageway you know." Lee snickered at my beet red face.

"Sorry." I muttered back at him.

"It's fine. Come on. Now to find a compartment. Fred and George should be coming shortly. They're always late." We both gave our trunks to the conductor loading the train and we hopped on. There was red carpeting and shaded compartment windows. Me and Lee looked for an empty compartment and managed to find one near the middle of the train. We walked in and took seats opposite of each other. It was cozy in here. The windows were large, and I could see the station outside, even a bundle of red heads.

"Hey Lee, is that them?" I pointed to the pack. Lee glanced at his watch instead and nodded.

"Well, we've a few minutes left before the train lets off, so it's most likely them." A few minutes later with Lee telling me more things about Hogwarts, the identical grinning faces showed up in our compartment.

"There you two are-" Fred(I think) started.

"How wonderful to see you two after such a long time." Again I laughed at their silliness, and George sat next to me while Fred sat next to Lee. The train then started pulling out of the station. I could see parents waving to their children from the platform. It made me imagine my own parents waving too, but I pushed that thought out of my mind.

A few hours later, darkness was starting to lower itself onto us as the lights flickered on. The boys were all playing an interesting game of Exploding Snap (it's very scary!) while discussing pranking matters. They even asked for my advice a couple times! I guess I'm a part of their team now.

The train then started slowing down until it lurched to a sudden stop. The lights started flickering until they just went out. I felt a chill run up my spine and then my fingers started numbing from the sudden cold. The window started to ice over and I looked over to the boys who were shivering slightly.

"Guys, is this normal?" I asked, teeth chattering. Lee just gave a single answer.

"No." My heart started to sink as I felt all happiness and energy leave my body. The memory of seeing my parent's bodies lying dead on the floor was a clear image in my mind. I shook my head hard to make it go away. A shadow passed our compartment window and my heart stopped short. It passed quickly, but it still scared me. What was that anyway?

The lights then flickered on and the train regained its speed once more. The boys had blank looks on there faces and I could only imagine my look of sheer terror on mine. I took a shuddering breath, moving my hands against my arms, trying to gain warmth.

"What the bloody hell was that?" I asked. "Did you guys feel that too?" They looked up at me.

"Yeah I felt it. I didn't like it though. It was like a trip down unhappy memory lane." Lee said.

"Are you okay though?" George asked concernedly. All the boys were giving me protective looks. Well that's good. I have overprotective brothers now.

"Yeah I'm fine. What was that thing anyway? Is that all the excitment I'm going to live through? Please tell me it is."

"He he. Not while you hang around us. I think it was a Dementor, but don't quote me." Fred said. I groaned on the inside. I don't know how much more of this "excitment" I could take.

After another hour or so, the train pulled to a stop at the Hogsmeade station Lee told me about. We all shuffled out, waiting for the others to come out too. A thought had just disrupted me though.

"Where do I go? Do I follow you?" I asked Lee quietly. He looked puzzled.

"I don't know. Usually the first years just ride in the boats with Hagrid, but you should probably just ride in the carriages with us. There's an empty one over there." Lee pointed to one and we made our way to it, pushing past groups of students.

We got into the carriage with Fred and George piling in behind us. I peeked out the window and saw some wierd looking winged creature attached to the carriage.

"Lee, what's that?" I asked. Lee looked where I was but scrunched his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about Maeve? I don't see anything."

"I'm talking about the big creature thing pulling the carriage. Do you not see it?" Lee looked again, but shook his head.

"I don't see anything."

"Are you sure you're alright?" George asked.

"Yeah, that Dementor could've messed with your mind, and now you're seeing things." Fred finished. I just shook my head at them.

"Nevermind. I doubt it's that big of a deal anyway." I told them. The carriage ride only lasted a few minutes. We were let off in front of the school, and I had not glanced at it till now. It was a large stone castle that radiated ancient history and beauty. My mouth was open in awe and the boys chuckled at me.

"Wait till you see the inside-" Fred said.

"It's ten times better than the outside-" George said.

"And that's saying something." I had started getting used to them both finishing each other's sentences.

"Yeah, if I don't get lost first. It's the biggest place I've ever seen." I said, still amazed. We traipsed into the large wooden doors, me looking at everything in complete wonder. The Entrance Hall was huge. More big wooden doors were open for students to get in. Those led to the Great Hall, where students ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

"Miss Devine! Miss Devine!" I heard a voice call out to me. I turned to face an older woman with emerald green robes on.

"That's Prof. McGonagall." Lee whispered to me. I gave a short "Oh." and walked towards her, also hearing Lee telling me that they'll have to meet me later and mentioning me getting into Gryffindor. What's Gryffindor? I stepped in front of Prof. McGonagall and waited for further instructions. She stared down through her thin glasses at me, and i could see even through her stern exterior that she cared deeply about her students.

"Miss Devine?" She questioned me. I nodded in assent. "I am Proffesor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house. Follow me please. Quickly." She led me through and archway and what I saw amazed me to no end. There had to be at least a hundred flights of stairs. And some of them were moving! Now I know I'm going to get lost. She took me up a few flights of stairs, pausing every once in a while to let me catch up with her.

"Please do hurry." She would say to me as I heaved myself up more steps. And after the long journey up the 20,000 steps of the dangerous stairs and through the maze of hallways, we made it to a large stone bird. We went all this way to come to a stone bird?

"Pepper Imps." McGonagall stated calmly. I gazed at her, pondering whether or not a mental institution would be well suited for her, but before another thought could pass, the large structure in front of us started lowering itself to the ground and an archway showed itself in front of me. Inside were (shockingly) more stairs that swiveled up. I looked at Prof. McGonagall confusedly, but she just pushed me forward.

"Miss. Devine, please wait in the office up those stairs. I will be back shortly, but I must take care of school buisness first." And she turned away and walked briskly down the hall. I turned back to the swirling stairs and shrugged. I walked towards them and stepped on a step. It continued moving up and I continued walking up each step, sort of like walking up an escalater. I finally made it to the top and found myself in a circular room with portraits hanging everywhere. Just like the ones hanging on the walls near the staircases. I didn't notice before, but they were moving. Wow. I don't think I'll ever get tired of magic. I was staring at one with a man with green robes on. He was sitting in a chair and behind him was a stone wall. I though it looked sort of dreary.

"Who do you think you're staring at girl?" I jumped at the portrait's words. It spoke!

"Y-you can talk?" I asked it, scared out of my wits. It- or he glared at me.

"Of course I can talk you insolent girl!" He yelled at me. I flinched.

"Oh, don't mind him dear. He's never been a very sociable person." A portrait of a lady in blue said. I nodded to her.

"Um, I'm sorry, b-but I have to g-go now." I sped off to the opposite door. I opened it and slammed it shut behind me. I know it was a bit irrational to do that, but the paintings were just talking to me! Hopefully I'll learn to get over it. I took a deep breath, noticing how many I've had to take on my here.

I turned around to see another circular room stocked full of interesting things. There were books on the opposite side, many trinkets, and there was even a beautifully colored bird perched a little ways away from me. It was incredible. I stepped closer to it, tentatively holding my hand out to it. It screeched at me which actually sounded like a soprano song. I let my fingers glide over its feathers, feeling the silkiness of the unfamiliar bird. It closed its eyes in pleasure and nipped at my hand gracefully.I let my hand fall to my side. I explored some more by walking over to the desk and taking a seat. How much longer will I have to wait? After ten more minutes something finally happened.

I heard the door behind me open, and I whipped around to see who it was. It was Prof. McGonagall carrying an old ragged hat. She strided up to me and sat the hat down on the desk.

"Ok Miss Devine, I am going to place this hat on your head and you will be sorted into your new house." She reached for the hat, but I stopped her.

"Uh Prof. McGonagall? My new house?" I questioned.

"I suppose Mr. Jordan hasn't explained all of this to you yet?" I shook my head. "Well, there are four houses. Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. This hat will sort you into the house." Again she reached for the hat and dropped it on top of my head. I waited a few moments to see what would happen.

_15 years old and your just now starting Hogwarts?_

I jumped at the deep, raspy voice. Who said that?

_I'm the sorting hat. I sort you into your house. Now just answer me this. How is it that a 15 year old is being sorted now?_

I shook my head. I'm not quite sure. I don't know much yet.

_Then you must be the girl they've been talking about._

Wait. Who's been talking about me? About what?

_All in good time. You will do great things. Now, where to place you? You've an urge to learn, much like Ravenclaw. But you've a hidden strength in you. Is it Confidence? Bravery? I cannot tell. I know..._

"Gryffindor!" I jumped again at the booming voice of the hat. McGonagal pulled the hat off with the tiniest hint of a smile.

"Congratulations Miss Devine. I am the head of house of Gryffindor, so any questions you may have, you may ask me directely. Now, if you will follow me, I'll take you to the Great Hall for dinner. Mr. Jordan and the Weasley's will be able to show you around afterwards." She left through the door, and I followed. I even gave a small wave to the portrait of the blue lady on the way out. After trudging down the stairs, we made it to the Great Hall. The doors were closed, but Prof. McGonagall pushed the doors open and led me through.

Since the doors creaked so loudly, everyone glanced at the doors to see who it was. Everyone was staring at me like I was a special exhibit at a meuseum. Not the way I would like to be noticed. I blushed red as McGonagall took me over to the table on the right. I saw Lee, Fred, and George and pointed them out to McGonagall. I sat down next to Lee and across from the twins and saw all the marvelous food layed out before me. I was drooling inside my mouth, it all looked so tasty.

"Jordan and Weasleys, I want you three to show Miss. Devine around the grounds and help her get to her classes. And try _not _to get into too much trouble this year?" She looked to me. "We'll discuss your getting caught up in class later Miss. Devine. Good Evening." And she walked off to the teacher table where they all watched over the student body. I piled some of the delicious smelling food onto my plate and took a bite. It tasted divine! I moaned contentedly and the boys looked at me weirdly.

"Maeve, congrats on making Gryffindor-" George said.

"It's the best out of all the houses of course." Fred said.

"Now it'll be even easier for us to pull our infamous pranks-"

"Cause now we got a new recruit that will do anything for us, right?" They both gave me a charming smile that I found hard to resist. Lee cut in for me though.

"Maeve, whatever you do, don't eat anything they give you alright?" I looked at him, confused at his statement.

"Awww Lee-" Fred said.

"Why'd you have to tell her that-"

"Do you not care about us anymore?" They finished with pitiful looks. Lee shook his head.

"No way. My duty will always be to pranking, but I also got to look out for my sister." He said. Sister. Wow. I was someone's sister. It's a good feeling having a family. Lee, Fred, and George went into some more of their hushed conversations, so I looked around the Great Hall. The teacher's table had some interesting people sitting there.

The teachers all seemed to have their own style, it was almost funny. One of them looked dark with greasy black hair and a crooked nose. A lot like my nose actually, but mine's a bit more feminine. Hey, nobody's perfect. The teacher next to him had on ragged, torn clothes and had graying hair, even though he looked to be in his early thirties. One teacher that had caught my eye before was a giant. He had to be twelve feet tall! He had a scraggely beard and beady black eyes that reflected kindness. The teacher in the middle though, or maybe he was the headmaster, had the most domineering prescence I had ever felt. He had a long white beard that was flipped over his shoulder to avoid getting food on it, and his moon shaped glasses were perched atop his nose, a lot like Prof. McGonagall's. As I examined him, he looked my way with comforting, blue twinkling eyes. He winked and raised his glass inconspicuously. I smiled a bit, enjoying his grandfatherly gesture. I turned back to Lee and the twins and listened to their conversation.

"So where are we going to plant the dungbombs?" I heard George ask.

This will definetely be an interesting year.


	4. The Invitation

**I would like to apologize for taking so long in getting this chapter up. Hey, at least it's here. Please enjoy it, and if anyone has any comments, then leave a review. Thanks to everyone!**

**Chapter 4: The Invitation**

It was almost a year later when something surprising happened. Fred and George had invited Lee and I to go to the Quidditch World Cup with them. I had learnt about Quidditch last year when Fred, George, and Lee had forced me to come watch them play and commentate. Admittedly, it was pretty interesting. I had also learnt about many other things last year which had allowed me to further acclimatize to the wizarding world.

For one, I had learned that Sirius Black, an escaped murderer from Azkaban, had been the one that those disturbing dementors were after. I had learned a few useful spells that were helpful when Fred and George would attempt to jinx the pants off of me. Literally.

Another useful thing was that it was a good thing to be friends with Fred and George. They were good for a laugh and weren't afraid to attain revenge when needed. Draco Malfoy would be a prime example there. He had been trying to grasp my attention with a few of his suave moves while I was alone in the hallway with a ton of books weighing me down, but George had popped up from around the corner and hexed Malfoy another nose. I don't think you would like to hear the details though. Or maybe you would. They are pretty funny. Anyway.

It was nearing the end of summer now, maybe a couple of weeks left, and Lee and I had been thinking of new prank ideas. Well, he thought of them while I wrote them down and shook my head dismally. I still did not approve of their pranking and what-not. Sure I laughed, but I would always disapprove of their antics. But that's beside the point. Lee had tested out a prank idea on Mrs. Jordan which ended quite horribly on her part. Let's just say Mrs. Jordan wasn't happy about having to throw away her favorite sundress, so she ended up grounding Lee until the start of school. This had Lee in a funk, so the only thing left to do was homework. Lee and I were working on our transfiguration essays when an owl ran straight into Lee's window.

_Thump_. Both of us jumped at the sudden sound, and looked towards the window. A large brown owl was sitting on the sill, shaking out its loose feathers.

"Errol." Lee muttered. He stood from the floor and walked to the window to let in the windswept bird. It flew over to the desk and scrambled to land gracefully before me. It stuck out its leg while trying to keep balance with its wings. I took the piece of parchment of off its stick leg and Lee gave it some leftover toast from breakfast.

"Errol?" I questioned while giving a pointed look to Lee. He shrugged and grabbed the parchment out of my hand.

"Errol is the Weasley's owl. Very clumsy." Errol tried to take flight again, but flew into the wall instead. It regained composure again and flew out the window this time.

"I see. Who's the letter from?" I asked him. He had unrolled the parchment and was skimming it over, his eyes growing wider and smile widening while doing so. He threw the paper down in front of me and punched the air while yelling.

"Yes! The World Cup! Incredible!" Lee kept jumping up and down in ecstasy while I calmly (if not a bit scared) read the letter.

_Dear Lee and Maeve,_

_Hope Lee's been corrupting our dear Maeve. We need her ready to prank if necessary this upcoming year. _

_But that's not what we wanted to discuss. Dad's just earned tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, and Mum said we could invite you guys._

_Please hurry to write back with your answer, cause you'd have to come over tomorrow. Hope to hear from you two soon!_

_Your favorite pranking duo, _

_Fred and George_

After I finished the letter, Lee grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me.

"You know what this means right?" He looked at me expectantly. I shook my head no. "We get to see some of the greatest players of all time play!" His grin grew even more, letting his teeth blind me momentarily. A thought crossed my mind though.

"Lee, I thought you were grounded. Are you sure you can go?" His face fell at my words. He slumped over to his bed and fell down on it.

"Your right Maeve! I can't go! Bollocks!" I jumped at his curse. I really felt bad for him.

"Lee, I'm really sorry. So, we could just spend time here doing homework." He looked at me confused.

"What are you going on about Maeve? _Your_ going. If I can't go, you have to. You have to tell me all about it. Come on." He bounced up. "Let's go ask Mum if you can go. And seeing as how you're a little miss goody-two-shoes in front of her, the chances are she'll say yes." He grabbed my hand and tore me away from my seat, making me drop the letter to the floor. We continued down the stairs to ask Mrs. Jordan. She said yes to me, and no to Mr. Icky-spider-boy. He he. See? I have a sense of humor too.

Lee and I went ahead and sent the letter to the Weasleys saying I could go. We got one back almost immediately back within the same hour. We unrolled it and read.

_Dear Lee and Maeve,_

_Congrats on being grounded Lee. You don't know how proud we are._

_As for Maeve, we're happy to hear that we have another prankster-prankster in training-coming with us. You should come tomorrow after lunch. Floo will work fine._

_Bring extra clothes. We'll be camping._

_Still your favorite pranking duo,_

_Fred and George_

I smiled at the letter. This might actually turn out to be a fun experience. Lee then pulled me from my seat and dragged me to my room. He walked to my dresser and started taking clothes out to throw into my rucksack located next to the bed.

"Hey! Lee! Those are my clothes!" I shouted at him while scurrying to pick up the strewn jeans and sweaters.

"I know. We're packing for tomorrow." He said over his shoulder.

"We? You mean you. This isn't even packing! Let me do it!" I said. I shoved him out of the way to put my armful of clothes back in the drawers. He just started plucking more clothes out, and I had to pick them up. It soon turned into a game to see who was the faster person. In the end, clothes were strewn all over my room, and Lee and I were laughing uncontrollably on the floor.

"Maeve! Come on! Get out of bed already!" I woke up to the sound of Lee's nagging. I kept my eyes shut and turned over. "If you don't get up, I'll sick my spider on you. You know how much he loves you." I bolted out of bed, not appreciating the idea of a spider in my bed. Lee started to guffaw, and I shoved him out of my bedroom. I showered and changed quickly into jeans and a green sweater. I grabbed my tiny rucksack and skipped downstairs, happy that I'll have something other to do than homework.

I came to the end of the stairs where Lee and Mr. Jordan were standing by the fireplace. I could hear Mrs. Jordan bustling around in the kitchen. Mr. Jordan was holding onto a bowl full of a powdery essence.

"Good, you're here, Maeve. To get to the Weasley's, you're going to travel by Floo-" Mr. Jordan started.

"-By fireplace." Lee cut in.

"Yes, by fireplace. You're going to scoop up some floo powder," He pointed to the bowl in his hands. "Step into the fireplace, and state very clearly your destination. Easy enough?" He pushed the bowl my way, and I grabbed a handful. I stepped into the fireplace, ducking my head as I did so.

"Okay, the place you want to go to is _The Burrow_, okay?" Lee told me. I gave him a confused glance, but he ignored me.

"You have fun, okay Maeve?" Mr. Jordan told me. Mrs. Jordan then hurried into the room. She looked a bit disheveled and gave a pointed glare to Lee. Ah, another prank gone awry, perhaps? Most likely. Mrs. Jordan faced me.

"Sweetheart, you have a good time. And make sure to thank the Weasleys once you get there. Bye darling." Mrs. Jordan waved to me. Lee just nodded at me.

"I know you'll have fun. Just don't eat any of the candy that Fred and George give you. Remember what happened last time?" He asked me. I grimaced and nodded.

"What happened? What have you boys been doing to this poor girl?" Mrs. Jordan snapped at Lee. But before she could yell at him anymore, I interrupted.

"Bye. I'll see you in a couple of days." They all waved at me as I threw down the powder and shouted out.

"The Burrow!" And after I was swallowed by the green flames, everything was a mess to me. I whizzed by other fireplaces, seeing other people occupying them. I shut my eyes and willed the nauseating feeling to go away. I finally stopped abruptly and stumbled out of the fireplace. I stumbled forward until I hit a solid object in front of me. I opened my eyes to see what I was grasping onto so tightly. It was George. Or, I think it was George. He had a mole on his neck. Anyway, I was grasping his shirt. I immediately let go, stepping back while letting my brown hair hide my red face.

"Sorry George." I muttered. He shrugged.

"Hey Fred, guess what? I got Maeve to fall for me!" He shouted behind him. I heard chuckles behind his tall form. I blushed even more, knowing I had an audience.

"Nice going, George. Hey, if you two go off to snog, maybe Georgie here could slip one of our products into Maeve's mouth, hm? It _is_ getting hard to find new testers." Fred said while walking up beside George. My eyes widened and I blushed an even deeper ruby color. They both laughed at my face and pulled me into a tight group hug. I wrapped my arms around their necks.

"Nice to see you two also. "I murmured to them. They let go and stepped apart to show Ron Weasley sitting at the kitchen table. I had met him last year when Fred and George introduced me to _everyone _in Hogwarts. I think every student knew my name by the end of that day.

"Hi Ron." I said.

"Hi Maeve." Fred and George then proceeded to drag me into the living room. They sat me down on the old patched-up couch and seated themselves beside me. Fred then bent over to look in the cuff of my jeans while George checked the other leg. Fred then reached for my sock, and George leaned back to push me slightly forward. I wasn't quite getting what they were doing, and wasn't planning on asking until I felt a hand slide into one of my butt pockets.

"Hey! What are you two doing?" I asked angrily. They just gave me innocent looks.

"Nothing. We were just searching for something Lee was working on." Fred said. I gazed at them with a blank look.

"Well, why would I have it?"

"Because Lee said in his letter that he would plant it on you to bring over." George said offhandedly. I stared wondrously at them.

"You smuggled products on me?" They shrugged.

"Well, there's no need to get your knickers in a twist-"

"Just tell us where you think it is." They said. I sighed. There was no use arguing with these two. I pointed to my rucksack sitting by the couch. They dove for it and started digging through it. I just sat down next to them while they pocketed something away. I looked at their innocent faces and just shook my head, something I was getting accustomed to doing.

"Mum!" They called out. I jumped. My heart started to beat a little faster. I admit I was sort of nervous to meet their mother. I hope she's nice... and not a prankster.

A woman came bounding down the stairs, but stopped short once she saw us. She had a motherly feel about her and had bright red hair. I'm going take a wild guess and say this is their mom.

"Oh my! Hello dear. You must be Maeve. I admit, when Fred and George told me their friend was coming, I was expecting trouble," She glanced at them warily. "But you don't look like trouble at all. It's nice to meet you. I'm Molly Weasley." She wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"Mum!" One of the twins said behind me.

"There is absolutely no need-"

"To insult our guest-"

"By saying she's not trouble!" They finished. I had to hide a grin as they said that. I thought it was funny. Mrs. Weasley didn't quite think so.

"Oh, honestly you two! Maeve, why don't you go and have a spot of breakfast. As for you two." She pointed a finger at the boys. "You two will be going with Ron and your father to get Harry." The twins grinned at each other while Mrs. Weasley shuffled us into the kitchen. "Oh, and boys, Bill and Charlie are coming today. Make sure your room is cleaned out before they get here." She told Fred and George. They grimaced and sat down at the table, pulling me down too. And as Mrs. Weasley set down a large plate of food in front of me, I knew coming was a good idea.


	5. Old Tricks and New Faces

* * *

**Chapter 5: Old Tricks and New Faces**

It felt as if it was dawn when I woke up the next morning. Mrs. Weasley had come in to wake us up to get ready to leave for the World Cup. She left afterwards to head to the boys rooms.

I lifted myself up grudgingly, not appreciating the early rise. I stretched and moved to sit on the side of my cot. I opened my eyes lethargically and was surprised to not be blinded by any light shining through the window. It was still dark outside.

"The sun's not even up yet! Why are we up?" I asked no one in particular. I turned around to get my clothes and saw Ginny and Hermione wiping their eyes sleepily.

"We're up this early so we can get there on time." Hermione answered automatically. I waved my hand at her and grabbed my clothes to change. After some jeans and a sweater and jacket, Me, Ginny, and Hermione made our way slowly downstairs, still tired from lack of well-needed rest. We shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing our eyes tiredly.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ginny said while the three of us sat down at the table. Fred and George were on either side of me.

"We've got a bit of a walk." said Mr. Weasley.

"Walk?" said Harry, who had arrived yesterday, late afternoon. I have to say yesterday was quite an amusing day with the twins getting into trouble. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"

"No no. That's miles away," said Mr. Weasley smiling. We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup-"

"George!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and we all jumped.

"What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

"What is that in your pocket?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't you lie to me!"

Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "_Accio_!"

Several small, brightly colored objects flew out of George's pocket, zooming right over my head. I had to duck to avoid being attacked by these colored "flies". George made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.

"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakably Ton-Tongue Toffees. They were the same product that Fred and George had used on Harry's cousin yesterday. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Maeve dear, I think it would be best if you moved for a minute." I jumped from my seat and scooted next to Hermione and Ginny. "Now empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"

That was not pleasant to watch at all. Apparently Fred and George had been trying to smuggle as many candies as they could out of the house. As Mrs. Weasley kept shouting at them, candies were flying out of their pockets, turn ups of their jeans, and even the lining of George's jacket. If only they had spoken to me, then I could have told them how bad of an idea this was.

"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother while she threw the toffees away.

"Oh a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more O.W.Ls!"

By the time we left for the World Cup, Mrs. Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek goodbye. I pulled my rucksack on with Fred and George and we walked out with Fred and George's faced pulled into a pout.

"Well, have a lovely time," said Mrs. Weasley. "and _behave yourselves,_" she called after the twins' retreating backs. They did not turn around or answer and I hit Fred's arm softly to try and force them to turn. They didn't budge. We just walked on with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny following after us.

As we slowly trudged our way to our destination, Fred and George had calmed down considerably and had each thrown an arm around my shoulders. The moon was still out and I could feel chills travel up my spine every few minutes.

We finally made it to the top of a large hill. I was catching my breath as I walked over to Hermione who was taking care of a stitch in her side.

"How much farther do you reckon?" I asked. She was still catching her breath, but shrugged her shoulders.

Now we just need the portkey," Mr. Weasley panted while squinting at the ground. "It won't be big… come on…"

So we spent the next few minutes searching for any sign of the object that will transport us all to the World Cup. I was inspecting a piece of cloth when I heard a voice call out a ways away.

"Over here Arthur! Over here son! We've got it!"

Two figures could be seen in the distance on the hilltop. I climbed the hilltop to see who had spoken.

"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley smiling. He strode over to the man to shake hands and we all followed. We got to the top and saw Mr. Weasley shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a srubby brown beard. Mr. Weasley introduced him as Amos Diggory. He then introduced Amos's son who, in my opinion, was a _very_ handsome man. His name was Cedric Diggory, and I recognized him as being the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain and Seeker who defeated Harry last year.

"Hi." said Cedric looking around at us all.

Everyone said hi back except for Fred and George who merely nodded. They never really did forgive him for beating Gryffindor for the first time since Harry joined the team.

"Long walk Arthur?" asked Mr. Diggory.

"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I'll tell you, I'll be glad when he gets his Apparation test. Still… Not complaining… Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons-and that's just about how much the tickets cost. Mind you, looks like I got off easy…" He peered around good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and me. "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This here is Maeve, a friend of Fred and George's," Cedric smiled at me which made me blush and turn away. I saw Fred and George scowl at him from the corner of my eye. "This is Hermione-friend of Ron's-and Harry, another friend-"

"Merlin's beard," Mr. Diggory exclaimed. "Harry. Harry Potter?"

Oh boy. I saw where this was headed. Poor Harry had to suffer through everyone's exclamations as soon as he meets someone new. Poor guy.

After Mr. Diggory was finished bragging about his son beating Harry in Quidditch, Mr. Weasley told us that it was almost time for the portkey to leave.

We all crowded around the manky old boot with me standing by George and Cedric. We all put at least a finger on the boot which proved to be difficult with ten big people with rucksacks.

"Three…" muttered Mr. Weasley, looking at his watch. "Two…" Cedric then suddenly turned to smile at me again which made me blush red again. "One…"

It all happened quickly. I felt a pull behind my naval and felt my legs leave the ground. I was being shaken back and forth, hitting shoulders with George and Cedric. My finger was magically stuck to the boot. It was all a whirlwind of colors and I had to shut my eyes to keep breakfast down.

My feet then suddenly hit the ground and I staggered into George who in turn fell over on top of Fred. I felt my head which had banged on the ground when I heard George speak from under me.

"You know the term "fall for" is not always meant literally."

I moaned and rolled over to see Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric standing, but windswept. Cedric stepped over to me and held his hand out. I grabbed it and he lifted me up.

"Thanks" I muttered, dusting my clothes off.

"Anytime." He said while smiling, yet again, at me. This time I gained some nerve and smiled back. I felt someone pull on my jacket behind me and then I was being dragged away by none other than the dynamic duo. I waved to Cedric and he waved back, turning around to go another way with his father. I rounded on the twins.

"You guys, that was rude!" Fred and George looked taken back by my small outburst. That was the first time I had ever raised my voice, even slightly, at them.

"Sorry." They muttered together and then shuffled away with their heads down, looking like lost puppies. Oh great, now I feel bad. I guess I'll apologize later.

I joined the small group containing Ginny and Hermione, and we just talked about nothing in particular, until we made it to the tent. Or tent parts. Mr. Weasley was having trouble putting it together, so Harry and Hermione had to help. I sat with Ginny. I looked at Fred and George and saw them discussing something quietly with their heads together.

"Finished!" Stated Mr. Weasley. "And I think we did a job well done if you ask me."

I looked at the tent and my eyebrows furrowed. There were two tents, and neither looked very sturdy. I looked at Harry and Hermione, knowing that they had lived among muggles for a fair part of their lives too, and saw that they were thinking along the same lines as me. How could we all fit in those? Not even including Bill, Charlie, and Percy.

Mr. Weasley lifted the flap and crawled in, and in a moment I heard his voice call out to us.

"It's a bit cramped, but I think we'll manage! Come inside and have a look!"

Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny crawled through, but me, Hermione, and Harry hesitated. Before long, I lifted the tent flap and crawled through. I looked up and my jaw dropped. I had walked into what looked to be the living room of a cozy house. The furniture and walls looked uncannily like The Burrow. There were also doors that most likely led to the boys sleeping room.

"I love magic." I muttered before flopping down on the fluffy sofa.


End file.
